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The sat by the side of the road hunched with a hand lettered cardboard sign that read, "COLD AND HUNGRY, PLEASE HELP".

I thought I would stop and give them a $20.(Awww,how nice...) I wanted to ask to take a picture of them and their sign. I want to start documenting this in case I can get someone's attention about these people. I then remembered that I had to pay the dentist and I would barely have enough money to pay my rent and buy groceries for the rest of the month after that. (So...apparently no 20!!!) I didn't feel it would be right to take their picture without giving them something and, of course, asking their permission. (Well of course!!! But you didn't say you gave them anything...just came up with excuses, poor you!!!)

I have seen many homeless with the same signs with variations of the same message that they are hungry and need help. I know we have services in my town, so I went on line (Ahhhh, you have the internets!!! Was that another bill you had to pay and not give the bums any $$$???) to find where they were. I discovered that the services for medical help, for food, for clothing and for shelter are miles apart. Our public transportation is woefully inadequate and too expensive for people who have nothing. There are soup kitchens in several of the churches, but they are far away from one of the few shelters in the county. There is a shelter for women, (wait, here it comes...) but it comes with strings attached like Bibles and lectures. (OMG!!!!) All the services except for the medical clinics (two of them that service all the poor, not just the homeless), are run by churches.(Bastids!!!) Most of the services specialize in whom they help and turn others away that aren't their specialty.

It struck me how awful it has to be to go begging from those religious folks, (Well why don't YOU help???) who give you a meal and a Bible. They can't offer anything else to help these people, who have to travel miles to get other services they need. It has been miserably cold and wet here even though it's California. Many of these folks camp and sleep on the beach when they aren't chased away. There was a notice that our County government had received $300,000 for the year for the homeless so they were going to meet to decide how they were going to allocate the money. Are they kidding? This is so inadequate to address the problem. They are talking about campgrounds. Really, this is the best the County can come up with? Our government has to do better. This can't go on.

I'm disgusted because I have been socially to many of the residences in my area. These people live in palaces. (Then what are YOU doing there??? Hmmm?) To go to their homes one is unaware that there is a depression going on and thousands of people including children are out in the street. The talk is of the latest restaurant, theater production or art exhibit they have gone to. (Ahhh, she must know CaliforniaPeggy!!!) Charity is about going someplace else like Mexico to do charity work, yet I read that there were enough homeless children in my county to fill one elementary school. This is so disgusting.(So is your post, dingbat.)

Sorry, I just had to rant about this. (That's ok, you probably just made this all up in your widdle head.)